The third Police Strategic Support Group (PSSG) Task Team Meeting
6 Oct 2015
The 3rd PSSG Task Team meeting was conducted in Pretoria from 28-30 September. Five Police Commissionors as well as the PSSG project Coordinator, Dr. Ann Livingstone and Annette Leijenaar, both representing ISS/TfP participated in this highly technical workshop. The objective of the meeting was to develop guidelines for Individual Police Officers (IPOs). Mr Crowd Chirenje who is the Assistant Commissioner of Police, took the lead in indicating the African Union (AU) requirements, whilst PC Anand Pillay from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Riana/Hester, Paneras former PC for the United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID), provided the mission requirements for IPOs. Furthermore, PC Bjorn Hareide, from the Norwegian National Police Directorate (POD), and Mr Finn Tore Petterson from the Norwegian Police Advisor for the East African Standby Force (EASF), provided excellent inputs from a Regional Economic Communities (RECs) perspective.
The draft IPO guidelines that were developed during the workshop included the roles and functions of IPOs; assessment of mission service; capacity and development; extension of tour of duty; early repatriation; performance management; allowances and entitlements; leave; conduct and discipline; command; control and communication; equipment; possession and use of firearms. Currently, the draft IPO guidelines are being refined by Dr Ann Livingstone, the PSSG Coordinator, for the PSSG Task Teams review and recommendations, before the next PSSG Task Team meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which will be held from the 19 – 21 November 2015.
The third PSSG Task Team meeting provided ample time after working hours to also discuss common African Union Police (AUPOL) policing issues, such as the AUPOL Statute and Policy. In addition, AMISOM PC Pillay, used the opportunity to discuss the upcoming ISS and POD Police training in Mogadishu, Somalia during November 2015, as well as a request to ISS/TfP to conduct two additional pre-deployment AMISOM trainings during December 2015/January 2016. These pre-deployment trainings will be based on the collaboration between AU Peace and Security Department (PSOD) Police, the Mission, ISS/TfP and POD. The training will coincide with the rotation of two groups of Police officers out of the mission.